


One Day at a Time

by jellytea



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon - Movie, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-22
Updated: 2011-08-22
Packaged: 2017-10-22 23:10:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellytea/pseuds/jellytea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several fluffy missing scenes before the rubble clears. Possible spoilers? Not quite sure, but if you haven't watched the movie, then by all means avoid this drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Day at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Jonas Brothers' "One Day at a Time."

Ron waited for Nagini to sink her fangs into his arms, and he held Hermione as close to him as possible, determined to at least shield her from the brunt of the attack. When nothing happened, he wrenched his eyes open, and stared at Neville, who was panting, sword hanging limply at his side, looking down at the beheaded remains of Voldemort's last Horcrux.

"Well. There's that," Neville nodded. He wiped a hand across his forehead, adding a streak of grime to his dirtied face. He looked over at Ron and Hermione who were pressed against a huge pile of broken steps and wall. "You okay?" Hermione nodded, as if in a daze, and slowly stood up, helping Ron get to his feet. She bit her lip before launching herself at Neville.

"Thank you," she whispered, feeling small against the tall expanse of the boy who had just saved their lives. He smiled against her hair.

"It was - exhilarating," he grinned. He pulled out of Hermione's grasp and cocked his head towards Ron. "I'm going to head down to the Great Hall, see who's okay, sort things out, yeah?" Ron came up behind Hermione, placing a hand onto her shoulder. He scrubbed his hand down his pants leg before extending it out to Neville. Neville smiled, a quick flash of teeth, and grasped Ron's hand, briefly squeezing it before letting go. He nodded, somehow able to both offer silent condolences for Fred and encapsulate that feeling of shocked relief in that small gesture, then turned and limped down the staircase.

"Hermione - " Ron began. She whirled around, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him, pouring as much of her feelings into it as possible. His arms circled around her back and he pressed back, slanting his mouth over hers, tongue running over her teeth. He hummed, a little, when she tugged at the ends of his hair and gathered her close enough that he could almost feel her heart pounding along with his.

-

Neville scanned the rubble and dust that filled the battered Great Hall. He was still holding onto the Sword of Gryffindor in one hand, lazily turning it over and over, playing with the jeweled handle. He heard footsteps behind him and he looked up to see Luna settle herself down next to him, giving him a sweet smile.

"You're a hero," she said simply, resting her chin on her shoulder, tilting her head to the side so that she was blinking up at him. He gently placed the sword on the ground, nestling it between two broken pieces of the Hall, and turned so that he was facing her fully. He blinked when she reached out and folded her hands around his, as if she had sensed that he had been encouraging himself to do the same to her.

"You were fantastic, Luna," he said slowly. "You were gone, and then you were here, and then there was the battle, and everyone was dying and you were helping Harry and now you're okay, and," he closed his eyes, hating that he was rambling like an idiot - so many people were gone now, and they were sitting in the middle of the Great Hall that didn't even have a ceiling anymore, or walls for that matter, get a grip, Longbottom - and breathed in deeply. "You're okay, now," he repeated.

Then he felt a soft brush of dry lips against his cheeks. His eyes snapped open and he was barely an inch away from Luna, and the corners of her eyes were crinkled up, and she was looking at him like he _was_ a hero, not just someone who had stumbled into the right situation at the right time.

"That's an effective way to get rid of Umgubular Slashkilters, you know," she whispered.

"Slashkilters?" Neville asked, his voice a little strangled.

"Yes. They have a terrible habit of latching onto the weakness of their victim and projecting it so that the victim either has an incredibly enlarged or deprecating sense of self. The former Minister of Magic, Fudge, had them. And you have them too. Yours is the easy kind to get rid of, though." Of course Luna would give him the entire history of a creature while they were close enough to count the freckles on each other's faces.

"Yeah?"

"As long as I can keep you from thinking that you're inferior, the Umgubular Slashkilters have no way to convince you that you are," she nodded. She leaned in close and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "It's working, isn't it?"

All Neville could do was stare and nod dumbly. She beamed up at him.


End file.
